Swimmin away
by xsunnychanx
Summary: Meenah is the Heiress to the kingdom Derse and has an arranged marriage with one of the princes of Prospit. She doesn't want to grow up to serve the kingdom so she runs away while on a trip. Aranea is a peasant girl who works on the Nitram family's farm, and one day while working she meets the runaway princess. They don't get along first but soon become friends and possibly more
1. Chapter 1

**Edit: I added the lines to make switching between characters a bit easier incase anyone got confused, enjoy! ^^**

* * *

-A young heiress stands in her room.

Well, you're not very young, you're 18 years old, and you're really sitting on your bed. You're actually supposed to be getting ready for a trip to another kingdom. Your mother has business over there with their royals and wanted you to come along to learn manners and such.

But who needs manners?

You stand up and your coral colored dress sways as you walk over to your window. The dress doesn't really work for you but you like the name of the color. 'Coral', reminds you of the ocean. If only the kingdom was set by the sea instead of by the mountains. Maybe then you would like this place more. Mostly likely not but at least you would have a more quality view than the village and a ton of trees. You hate looking at the village. You hate the reminder that you're being forced to rule after your mother steps down from the throne. You hate the fact that you will have to help every person in the kingdom with whatever problem they bring to you. You fucking hate it.

You might as well get your shit together before your mother tells you again. You're not scared of her or anything you just don't want to put up with her right now.  
A small bag is at the foot of the bed so you grab that and look through your drawer for some clothes to bring. Why do you have so many damn dresses anyways? Oh right because she won't let you wear anything else.  
"You have to presentable to our public, Meenah. Not like a crop worker".

You wish you were a crop worker, at least then you could do whatever you want. Maybe you could even live by the ocean where you could swim everyday and catch fish, you really like fish.

Someone is nocking on the door as you slip a few things in the bag such as your sea monster rag doll. The doll is only for show though. "Meenah? Your mother says it is time to go."  
It's one of the older servants that's been around since you were little. You don't like her though, you don't really like anyone. "Tell her I'm gettin' ma crap cloths ready, be there in a sec."

She leaves the room and you check for anything extra you want to bring. Nothing else here, just your room. You only like this room because it is the one thing you could decorate yourself. The shells and nets that hang on the walls were brought here by your father when you were young and he was alive. Your blankets are a Fuchsia color with light purple pillows, it matches your eyes a bit. Above the bed, two crossed tridents are nailed into the wall with a fish in the middle. There is a few dressers and chairs too but nothing very detailed.

Before you exit the room you look back. If only you could stay in here where you can be you and not who your mother says you're suppose to be.

* * *

-Be the girl on a mission.

The mission is to get some herbs so you can make more medicine for your family in the future. Your mother had to use the last of it on a friend of hers who was very sick, you hope the poor guy is doing alright. Luckily your friend Nitram was able to give you a ride here or else you would be sitting home waiting for the next shipment to be delivered to the towns shop. He's a good friend. You and his family call him Rufio, funny name. It took a day and a half to reach the kingdom but it does not disappoint. You spent less coins here than you would have back in your own village! With the extra money you managed to snag a few books and scrolls for your writing. Sometimes after working on the Nitram's farm all day you like to write a few short stories down. These stories can go from fairy tales to ordinary fiction, but you're favorite thing to write about is adventures as a pirate.

"Come on web girl, if we hurry maybe we can grab some extra food before we leave in the square".

"Alright but then we MUST get back on the trail. Though I wish we could stay here longer, I admire some of the structures here. Mostly the castle though! We don't even get to see it that often do we? Living far from this place can really be a drag." He rubs your head, " Well home is cool too, we got cows!". You make sure he can see your face before you rolls your eyes, "Come on lets go".

When you enter the square knights are everywhere moving people around. "What's with all of these knights? Something happen?". You look at Rufio but he's just looking at the knights. Well thanks . You both make your way through a crowed of people to get to a stand thats selling crops, but you don't have enough time to grab any food because a tall knight is ordering everyone in your direction to move. You almost bump into a mother and her child as you work your way through the crowed.

Rufio is hanging on to your arm so you both don't get separated. Two men next to you can't get through to a group of people. "Excuse me?" you ask one, "Why are all these knights here? Did someone do something?". The shorter of the two turns to face you, "What? Oh, no. Another royal family is coming here for matters that don't involve us. There's just a lot more people here than expected so they sent out more knights than usual".

A few minutes later there is a carriage guarded by a few knights rolling through the square. In it sits a woman with dark brown hair. She is a bit bigger than your mother, and her hair is curly and everywhere. She is wearing a long slim dress with matching jewelry. Next to her is a younger girl who looks to be around your age. She doesn't look happy, she isn't waving or smiling, just glaring at whoever looks at her. She catches your eyes for a second with the same look she gave everyone before they were entering the courtyard.

"That was cool huh?". Your friend is tugging on your arm now, "Come on Aranea let's go". You both head back to your own carriage without your food and throw your things in there. You climb in and take one last look at the castle before heading off again. "That was fun".

* * *

-Be the one stuck in a new place.

Stuck is one word, trapped is another. Right now you feel like a horse trapped in a barn with no way out. Everyone else decides when you can come out, where you go, and when you go back in. People will try and ride your back and no matter how much you try to fight it you end up losing in the end.  
You hate losing.

Right now you're eating with mother and two other adults; AKA the King and Queen.  
"So Meenah, have you found anyone to marry yet?". This topic you hate with all your heart, " No. A man ain't good for nothin' no how".  
Your mother starts to laugh, and soon she's patting your shoulder. "What she means is no she has not found the right one yet, but when she does I'm sure it will be someone of high class".  
You're about to laugh right in her face but then she leans over to you whispering, "Watch it". The rest of the meal you just sit in silence. You could always say what's on your mind, but this isn't your castle so the servants here won't do anything if you're grounded. After dinner your mother and the king and queen go into a room and closes the door. So you head to the stairs and go up to the room your staying in for a few days.

The room is boring. Very boring. But you like it. You like the change of the high class castle rooms to something more downgraded. It's a guest room so all it has is a bed, two dressers, a table with papers on it and some chairs, some candles, and a window. Maybe once you get home you can change your room to something more like this, but you'd sill keep your ocean theme.

You throw your bag on the bed and jump onto it and just lay there for a few hours. People nock on your door every now and then to welcome you but you just either ignore them or tell them to go away if they don't leave. Who else lives here? The only thing you know is they have a son who is away at the moment. They could always have more family around that hasn't showed up. Why do you even care? More people means more shit you have to put up with. You already have enough on your plate to deal with.

"Meenah?". Someone's at the door, but this time it's your mother. "Can you please come with me?". You groan in protest as you get up. You open the door and follow her down to the room where they went in before. "Why don't you just send a snarky maid to fish me out of ma room?". She ignores the question and tells you to sit down. Across from you sits the queen and king. Wish you knew their names because calling them the king an queen is weird.

The queen was holding a few scrolls in her hand with a smile on her face. "Hello Meenah". The door closes behind you and for an hour you're sitting in a room with three people who have a plan for you.

That night you can't sleep. You just lay in your bed staring at the ceiling. How could you not have seen this coming? You feel really stupid, all your life people have been deciding almost everything for you and you didn't see this coming at all. You're very angry, not just your mom, just everyone here in general. Is that why they asked you that at the table? Was that just a joke to give you a hint? You do not, do NOT want to get married to someone's son you don't even know. He's probably one of those nice people who can also be strict and shows off whenever he can. He would probably think you're just a grumpy girl who's weaker than him and he will try to protect you. You can protect yourself, he's the one who should watch out.

You're 18 and she has already set up and arranged marriage for you. It's for your kingdom since you have learned that there is another child in the family, another male who is traveling with his brother. You sit up and hop out of the bed and over to the window. The view is different here. You're not so close to the mountains and there are less trees. You need to get out of here, out of this nightmare and get to somewhere safe. Maybe you could live in the woods with wild beats and travel the world. Maybe you can make it back home and just live in the mountains with some family. You don't care, you just need to get out of here. You need a plan.

You need to make a plan soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for taking so long! I've been busy with school and I've had writers block for a bit. But I managed to post the next chapter! I'm sorry for any misspelled words you might come across. Enjoy!**

* * *

-Make the plan.

Okay first thing's first, you need to figure out an escape route through the town. But how can you leave the castle without anyone seeing you? You could head towards the woods and stay near the trail, but that seems to easy. You're currently standing outside the Prospit castle observing a few knights training some pages while looking for a way you can exit the area without anyone seeing you. This seemed to be a lot easier in your head. Everything is easier in your head, but you're plans always work out in some way. Some of the pages are staring at you so you give them a look then point back to the knights. Stupid kids, wonder how they react to the other royals.

You decide to take a stroll around the entire building for any sign of possible hiding places. Leaving at night is your best option so you will need places to slip into in case of guards. You could always jump in a bush or hide behind a wall since thats all thats here. Maybe you can run to where they keep the horses and take one, but then will they notice a horse is missing? Maybe they would think it just escaped. No, someone could see you riding down the path on a big horse. You'll just steal some poor saps horse while running to the edge of the town.

While heading back inside you see the king walking down the hall. When we gets to you he gives you a nod and continues on his way. The king is an O.K guy compared to the ladies. He didn't speak much when you were in that 'meeting' with them but every once in a while he would throw in his opinion or explain something about his son that his wife couldn't. Speaking of the prince he should arrive here in a few days. Everyone is pretty excited for his return, well except you of course, maybe if you weren't being forced to marry him you could try to become friends.

Although making friends is kinda hard for you.

While walking back to your room you tell a servant to bring you some water as you head up the stairs. At the top you go down the hall and into your bedroom. This is the time to organize the things you need to bring with you. You can use the bag that you brought to the castle since it's pretty big and can hold a lot of things.  
First thing you'll need is extra clothes. You're not going to be changing in the woods but it might get cold at night and you might need to cover up more. You're also bringing a bed blanket, some food and water before you go, your sea monster rag doll your dad made, and of course your necklace. You pull out a drawer which holds your clothes and you take out a pair of gloves. You reach into one of the gloves and pull out a golden necklace with the tip of a trident in the middle. This thing has been in your family for generations and is worth more than all the clothes in this drawer. You put it on your neck then start putting some things in your bag.

The plan is to leave tomorrow night before the guards change shift. They should be tired enough so they won't notice you as easily. You need to run toward the edge of the town and grab a horse then run into the woods as fast as you can. Once you leave, someone is sure to come after you within the hour, or maybe minutes after you take the huge animal. You should pack extra water flasks and food for the horse. After that you should ride for a couple hours before your first rest. You have to be careful of any boars or wolfs in the woods and any other creature that is dumb enough to try and attack you. Adding a knife to the list of things you should bring would be a good idea. Anything after that you'll just have to think through when its time.

* * *

-Wake up lazy pants.

You wake up to the sight of light shining through your window in your room. It's pretty but not pretty enough to make you get up. You and Rufio had returned home last night and were exhausted from the long ride home. When he dropped you off your mother was inside sitting on a chair waiting for you. "How was the trip?" she asked. "It was exciting and long. I wish we had more time to look around but with all the knights and lack of time I knew we couldn't. But it's good to be back home so I can rest" you replied in a tired voice. You then went into your room after that and went straight to bed.

After a few more minutes you force yourself up into a sitting position. Your back is a little soar from the ride, but not as bad as you thought it would be. Finally you stand up and stretch before you change into some fresh clothes.

When you enter the kitchen there is a plate of bread sitting on the table. You take a piece and head outside where you find your mother washing some clothes. "Good morning!" you say, "I'm heading over to the farm mom, i'll be back later!".

"Alright Aranea but be home early. By the way is Vriska up yet or do I need to get a bucket of water?".

Vriska is your little sister. She tends to get into trouble with the other folk around here, whether its taking something of theirs to sell for coins or just being a bitch, someone always seems angry. But she's not really that bad! She has a softer side that you can see when she thinks no one is looking, but she doesn't like to show it often even in private. Sometimes she comes to the farm with you to bother Rufio's little brother.

"I don't think so. I would get her for you but I really must get to work. Bye mom!".  
You skip down the road until you reach a trail near a few trees. The farm is a bit farther away from other homes so the animals don't bother anyone at night. As you walk on the trail you admire some small flowers along the path. It's nice when you walk to the Nitram's farm with the pretty plants and fauna. Sometimes a chipmunk runs across the path or a squirrel but only so often because of the stomping noise your feet make when you walk this way.

When the winter time comes its like a wonderland of white. The trees and bushes would be covered, and you would spot a white hare or two hopping along sometimes. It's pretty amazing to you how it would look so different during the seasons but still look the same.

While taking your time looking around you hadn't noticed how close you were to your destination. The farm comes into view and you break into a small jog. You can already see a few pigs in the wooden pen and a horse tied to a post, look's like is cleaning the old gal. You run past the gate then slow down your pace as you walk over to greet him. "Good morning sir! I see that you are cleaning up Betsy huh? She's looking great so far. Is your son up yet? I want to get working right away."

"Yes he's up. He went to the butchers to sell a pig a while ago but he should be back in a few minutes. While you're waiting you can clean out the empty horse pens".

Out of all the things you have to clean (besides feeding buckets and containers) cleaning the horse pens is one of the cleaner things to do. It's easier than trying to wash Tank (the family's bull). He kicks up dirt into your face and you almost lost your arm when he starting fighting you last time.

You head over to the horse stalls and grab the broom. A few horses greet you with a few huffs when you walk into an empty pen. "This one should be quick". You sweep out any bad hay patches you find and pick up any poop and throw it in a bin. Horse poop is just dried hay anyways.

You then lay down some fresh hay and fill up one bucket with water, and the other full of hay before moving on to the other three pens.

"You missed a spot!" someone points out as you're cleaning the last empty stall. You turn to see your friend standing by the shitty hay pile, "Watch out there or your going to be scraping horse poop off your shoes". Rufio looks down and makes a face as he scoots away from the pile.  
"Sorry I wasn't here when you came. I actually wanted to leave earlier but I lost track of time riding by the woods."

"You mean down by the shed?"

"Yea. Soon I can start cutting out a path to the secret spot, but who knows how long it would take? It takes us 20 minutes to get there by horse, so actually _creating_a path could take forever."

You both found the secret spot three years ago when searching for a lost pig. The little bugger got out of the pen and he was important profit for the farm. You both went farther than necessary and almost got lost. You suggested to go back because one, it was taking forever, and two you stepped in a pile of poison ivy.

"Just a few more minutes, and if we don't find him then i'll just have deal with my dad".

Your feet were killing you and you were pretty sure that a rock got into your shoe. So you took a break and sat down for a few while Rufio when on.

You hear a scream a few minutes after Rufio left. "Rufio?", you gotten up and ran in the direction of where you heard his voice. You ended up in a opening and nearly ran off the side of some rocks but caught yourself in time. Wow, that place was pretty.

It was a large pond surrounded by some large rocks and patches flowers. The trees were a good distance from it, you could probably fit a smell house by the edge. The sun was shining right above the water so that the light danced off the water with gleam. It wasn't a big place but it was very pretty. When you looked down you saw that Rufio had fallen in the water. "Hows the weather down there?" you teased.

He looked up at you and stuck his tongue out.

Now it's a good place to cool off when it gets hot or when you just want to relax, but getting there can be a challenge on foot. One day you and Rufio started to get ride of some plants and trees to make room for a path to ride horses over there instead. Every other day or two Rufio would ride threw that little area to stomp out everything in the way and soon you'll have a path for a faster way to get there.  
Also, you never found that pig.

"Well, that's good. Maybe tomorrow I'll ride with you! But lets just get our work done before we plan anything. We still got cleaning to do and you're making me do most of the work!". You frown at him but you're really trying to hold back a smile.

"Oh I'm sorry that I was just working on our little project that means something to us and not cleaning up horse and bull shit. What WAS I thinking?".

You pick up a tiny piece of poop and aim right between his eyes, then throw it. He ducks but not before some small pieces fall into his hair. "Hey! I don't need anymore shit in my hair!".

"You can say that again. When's the last time you washed?".

Rufio lifted up his arms and stuck his nose in one of his pits, taking a long sniff. "I think I smell good. Here, come smell!" You chuckle and look for a way out of the stall as he comes at you with his hairy pit heading straight for your face. "Gross! Ruf- don't!". You're giggling and almost slip on some hay when you try and run past him.

"You can't escape Aranea! My pits will find you!".

"No please! I don't deserve this kind of punishment! What did I ever do to you!". You're laughing really loud now, running out of horse pens and head toward the house. Rufio runs after yelling like some wild creature with both fists in the air.

You escape inside and slam the door behind you. You need a chair, you need a chair. You find the nearest one you could find and push it to the door, but you know it won't hold for more than a few moments. You already hear him banging on the door and laughing. "Okay! I'm done I swear". You don't move for a while, now sitting on the chair. He_knows _he can just push open the door easily. But why doesn't he? Who knows.

"Araneaaa, we have chores to dooo" he groans. You sigh and take the chair away before slowly opening the door, "No more fooling around until we're done okay, poopy head?". He takes a moment to mess with his hair to try to get rid of any unwanted contents. A few pieces of brown fly out while a few just end up landing in the back of his hair instead. "Oh hey I just remembered something. Can you come here tomorrow afternoon? I need extra help with some crops and Dad's busy. I would have asked Kankri but, uh, I don't feel like being asked five hundred questions about what were doing".

You look at him and take a moment to consider this. If you go then you'll miss a few hours that could be used finishing one of your books. And you really like that book, nice leather skin, a great story about the first kingdom built, that thing cost you quite a few coins. But it was totally worth it.

But if you _do _go you will be helping a good friend out and the crops will be harvested faster. Heck, maybe you'll even make a few extra coins while you're at it. "Okay, I'll do it".

His face breaks into a hug grins and he gives you a small hug. "Thanks Aranea".

* * *

-Get ready, get set-

It's time to go. Tonight's the night.

You double check to make sure you have what you need. Clothes, water, a few breads and fruit (no meat, that would spoil), carrots, your rag doll, and of course your necklace. Well there's no going back now. You can't believe how excited you are.

You slowly open your door and peak out. Your mom and them are already asleep, but the servants and a few knights wander the halls now and then. You quickly slip threw the door and shut it as quietly as you can. The thing squeaks a bit and you bite the inside of your cheek, hope no one can hear it from down the hall.

You half tip-toe half walk down the hall and whenever you reach a corner you set yourself against the wall and peer over. But no one is in sight yet, that'll obviously change once you're outside. You made sure to wear your darkest dress for this. Well, it's not really a dress anymore. You modified a dark brown silky dress by cutting the bottom of it so it reaches your knees, later you took some of the cook's pants to wear under them. You had dipped the pants in mud hoping it would darken it a little. So far so good. Your hair is tied up into two buns instead of your usual braid or pig tails, you considered actually cutting your hair but the though of having short hair seemed to weird for you.

You descend the stairs with nothing more than a few claps from your boots and soon your down in the main hall. The door is right there. You can just taste the outsi-

Someone's coming. You can hear their footsteps.

Without a second to lose, you jump behind a pillar and get as close to the ground as you can. An unarmed knight walks threw mumbling about how he has to take the dumb night shift. Shit, you gotta get out of here before the shift change or else they might see you. Once you are 100% sure that no one else is going to appear you make a dash for the front doors. Oh look, some idiots forgot to lock the doors tonight. It's not like anyone would want to sneak in here or anything. You open the door just enough to poke your head out. You can't stay in the doorway long, these are some pretty big doors and someone can easily notice the light coming from inside.

You quickly sneak out and close the door, then look around as if you're being hunted yet. You WILL be hunted after tonight.

A few knights are moving around getting ready to switch. This is going to be a little tougher now. Just a little. You can take a silly knight any day of the week.

Quickly, you find the closest thing to hide behind and slowly, slooooowly make your way to the side of the castle. Okay Pexies, you just need to head out to the edge of the woods and down to the village. There you can get a horse and get the hell out of here.

"Stop!"

You freeze for a moment, then turn you head to see one of the younger knights heading toward you. "Who are you! Don't move!".

As he nears you, you have a very important decision to make: Advance or Abscond?


End file.
